85 people died in the reservoirs of the Vitebsk region in July

August 2, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. Eighty-five people died in the waters of the Vitebsk region in July, which is more than 2.5 times the number of deaths in the same period of both 2008 and 2009. Vyacheslav Vanenok, a leading specialist of the regional organization of the Voluntary Society for the Rescue of People on Water (OSVOD), told a BELTA correspondent. The main cause of tragic incidents on water is swimming while intoxicated. Among those who died in July were seven minors, which was a consequence of parents' lack of control over their children's leisure time. In the last week of the month, which was anomalously hot, 10 people drowned, including one minor. The tragedy with the child occurred near the village of Osinovka in the Vitebsk region. Several local teenagers were spending time by a small pond without adult supervision. Closer to evening, the children wanted to swim. A 9-year-old boy, who could not swim, also went into the water. In the reservoir, where the depth reaches 3 m, he could not swim to the shore. The district prosecutor's office is currently conducting an investigation. According to operational data, a total of 148 people have drowned in the region's waters since the beginning of the year, including 13 minors. -0-